Kenneth Weiss

[cite web | title = EMC Completes RSA Security Acquisition, Announces Acquisition of Network Intelligence | work = Press Releases | publisher = RSA Security | date = Monday, September 18, 2006 | url = http://www.rsa.com/press_release.aspx?id=7317 | accessdate = 2008-06-02 ] .

Biography

Once SecurID's potential was recognized, Weiss set out to expand his company, and initiated the purchase in 1993 of RSA Security, then a small encryption company working in the field of internet commerce. In 1994, Security Dynamics went public on the NASDAQ stock exchange. Weiss, the company's largest individual shareholder, resigned in 1996; the company had by then achieved a market capitalization of more than $4 billion.

Weiss has more than 30 years of experience in computer system design. He is an internationally recognized author and inventor, with twenty U.S. patents and numerous foreign patents. He currently has five patents pending to address identity theft, secure financial transactions (eliminating multiple credit cards),a virtual credit card and an improved replacement for the SecurID card.

Weiss has taught at several colleges and universities, including Penn State, University of Bridgeport, and Nasson College, as well as at Kings College, where he was chairman of the psychology department for seven years as a professor and textbook author. Weiss holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Bridgeport; continued graduate studies and research at the University of New Hampshire and Temple University; and a doctorate from the Neotarian Fellowship. He is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and honor societies such as Sigma Xi and Psi Chi. He is a member of the Lifeboat Foundation and sits on their Scientific Advisory Board [cite web | title = Advisory Boards | publisher = Lifeboat Foundation | url = http://lifeboat.com/ex/boards | accessdate = 2008-06-02 ] .

From 1975 to 1983 Weiss was President and CEO of Contax Systems, a manufacturer of human-engineered, computer-aided dispatching systems. He is now Chairman and CEO of Strategic Diversity Inc., a private holding company with interests in intellectual property licensing, private equity investment and other projects. He serves as a director on the boards of several companies.

Weiss has published more than 50 journal articles and has presented speeches on information security throughout the world. His inventions and financial success have been featured in the media, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, Fortune, The Boston Globe, national and international network television and radio programs and business and industry publications.

Dr. Weiss is also widely recognized as an advocate for privacy and personal security. In 1994 he published an often quoted [http://www.kennethweiss.com/s6.pdf seminal article] enumerating seven key flaws in the Clipper chip initiative. Weiss’ position and this [http://www.kennethweiss.com/s6.pdf article] contributed to the abandonment of a multi-billion-dollar U.S. government's dangerous and flawed program that would have allowed electronic eavesdropping on any US citizen with a surveillance chip embedded in private electronic communication equipment.

He was on the editorial board of the Journal of Information Systems Security, was chairman of the identification and authentication division of the American Defense Preparedness Association's committee on computer security, and a member of the Technology and Ethics Committee of the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA). Weiss has been named to Who's Who in Computers and to Leaders in American Innovation.

In addition to the physical sciences, Weiss' interests also include yachting and high performance automobile collecting. In 2000 after a worldwide search he acquired the high tech, computerized, sailing yacht GITANA, a 118-foot cutter-rigged sloop designed and built by Perini Navi of Italy. The vessel has undergone an extensive refit with loving attention to restoration and enhancement of original features since Dr. Weiss' purchase. Gitana was sold in December 2006. Weiss is also involved in the communities in which he resides, both as a participant and officer in civic organizations and as a benefactor to a diverse group of philanthropies with a focus on culture, education of youth and the preservation and restoration of historic buildings. Some of those groups include the Cape Ann Symphony, Gloucester Stage Co., Gloucester Schooner Festival, historical meeting house restoration, Cape Ann Historical Association, and The Perfect Storm Foundation, as well as Boston-area urban health care centers, the Lahey Clinic, and political action groups. In addition to his own direct and financial participation, he has often hosted events or receptions in one of his homes or his yacht to promote more involvement and fund-raising within the community.

Notes

_{1. Dr. Weiss' SecurID technology - still the core product, > 80% of all revenue, of the company he alone founded - is based on the premise that a password alone is not enough to secure a computer network. The SecurID introduced two-factor authentication - something you know (a password) and something uncounterfeitable you have (a token, i.e., the card) to solve the problem of unauthorized network access. To prove to a computer that a user has the token in his possession at a specific moment, a digital display produces a random up to 8-digit number every 60 seconds. Through a patented algorithmic process, that same number is simultaneously synchronized and produced within the host computer. If the password and numbers match, access is granted. The powerful algorithm has never been broken. The entire core SecurID technologies are exclusively Dr. Weiss' inventions and patents.}

2. An investigative financial reporter wrote: Dr. Weiss resigned in protest in 1996 after becoming concerned about the inappropriate influence of the venture capitalist controlled board of directors and the integrity, motivation, and lack of vision exhibited by the CEO he had hired. Dr. Weiss' concerns focused on board member independence, abuses associated corporate governance, the improper backdating of executive options and the non-exploitation commercially of some of his patents. He was convinced that the company could not maintain its value and growth and would loose its value under the entrenched management. Indeed, after Dr. Weiss' resignation, the company lost more than 90 percent of its value. Dr. Weiss arranged for his resignation letter to be sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). (available on line) Years later Dr. Weiss' concerns were reflected in a scathing article published by a highly respected online investment newsletter. Backdating of options has become a current major national concern and the SEC has implemented new controls. Subsequent to his departure, the company has had independent actions filed against it by other investors and the SEC.

References